Here are Don's Top Eight Great Tips for saving big bucks when you travel out of the United States.

#1- Travel in the off season! And that usually means October through April in the Northern Hemisphere. Airfares to Europe, for example, are a third to half of what they are in Summer. And always check with your favorite travel agent about "consolodator fares" - tickets sold by third party businesses at deep discounts, because those third parites guarantee a large volume of business. Most consolodators work only with travel agents. #2- Purchase some of your food at grocery stores. Many have great deli's, and if they don't, you can buy the fixings and put your own sandwich together, along with fresh fruits and vegies. Save the big money meals for special times; and when you go to a restaurant, eat where the locals eat - you'll get more and better food for less money. #3- Get lodging at a place that caters to people from the country you are in, and where breakfast is included with each night's stay. For example, bed and breakfasts are all over Europe, and they offer twice the intimacy and warmth for half the cost of a hotel. Plus, you get to rub elbows with the homelanders. #4- Travelers checks are really a thing of the past! Pay with plastic, and get cash from an ATM. You get the very best exchange rate this way. Also, use a moneybelt to keep ATM use to a minimum - they do charge of fee for each transaction. #5- Don't rent a car in a big city. You don't want to pay $20 to 30 a day to park your $30 a day car - take a city tour, and then public transportation is the way to go. If you want a car for touring the countryside and smaller towns, pick it up when you leave the big city and turn it in when you get to the next big city. Also, bear in mind that a "compact car" in the rest of the world would fit in the front seat of an American compact. If there are just two of you, train travel is very economical, and buses in Europe are even less expensive than trains (especially in Great Britain). #6- Fly "open jaw" - into one big city and out of another. #7- If you want to call home regularly (to make sure things are ok), get an international phone card with PIN number. You can call the US for a matter of ten or fifteen cents a minute from Europe. That's a lot less than the three dollars plus per minute you'll be charged by the major American companies. #8- Get a guidebook. You really will save a ton of money if you do your homework with a guidebook, to say nothing of the sights you won't miss!

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